Method of applying binding elements to cords



Dec. 19, 1950 F. w. HENNESSEY 2,534,367

METHOD OF APPLYING BINDING ELEMENTS T0 CORDS Filed Jan. 11, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1950- F. w. HENNESSEY 2,534,867

METHOD OF APPLYING BINDING ELEMENTS T0 CORDS Filed Jan. 11. I945 2Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIII 58 -IIIIIH Patented Dec. 19, 1950 STATES PATENTOFFICE METHOD F APPLYING BINDING ELEMENTS Ti) CORDS Application January1131, HMS, Serial. No. 5753,4112

(Cl. 153-l) ll Claim. 11

This invention relates to a method of apply= ing binding elements tocords and more particularly to a method of attaching S-hook type orother stay bands to telephone cords.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple andefficient method of applying binding elements to cords.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention as applied to theattachment of S- hook type binding elements or stay bands to telephonecords for the purpose of preventing the end of the covering material onthe cord from fraying or tearing and providing means for fixing the cordin place in a piece of electrical apparatus, the s-hooks are partiallyformed in any suitable forming apparatus wherein the separate bindingelements are partially sheared from a continuous length of material andbent to semi-circular shape without completely detaching them from thestrip of material. In this apparatus, hooks may be loosely attached tothe formed portions of the strips, at the end thereof away from thecontinuous length of web or strip, by means of which the separatelyformed hooks or binding elements are interconnected one with another.After the strips of interconnected S-hooks are thus formed, they are fedinto a punch press type of apparatus and guided to position above alength of cord While still interconnected one with another by theintegrally formed web and then in a single stroke oi the press apartially formed band is moved down to engagement with the cord and thenthe cord and S-hook or stay band are moved together as a unit during theshearing of the binding element from the web or strip. Continuedmovement of the cord with the binding element partially enclosing itwill engage the free ends of the binding element with a forming toolwhich cooperates with a second forming tool moving with the bindingelement to completely attach the binding element onto the cord.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to thefollowing detailed description when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein Fig. l is a fragmentary detail perspectiveview showing a binding element positioned in alignment with a length ofcord to which it is to be attached and showing some details of the toolswhich cooperate to shear the binding element from its web and clamp ittightly onto the cord, portions of the mechanism being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a binding elementattached to a cord prior to the feeding of a new binding element intoposition above a new length of cord;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary vertical sectional views through apunch press mechanism suitable for performing the method of the presentinvention and showing the progressive steps oi the invention, Fig. 3showing the press in its open inoperative position with a bindingelement positioned in direct vertical alignment with a length of cord,Fig. 4 showing the binding element in partial engagement'with the cordwhile still connected to the web, Fig. 5 showing the binding elementafter it has been sheared from the web and transferred into position tohave the final forming operation performed upon it, and Fig. 6 showingthe binding element completely encircling the cord at the completion ofthe stroke of the punch press;

Fig. 7 is a plan sectional view taken substantially along the line ll-iin Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows and showing the method ofguiding the binding elements into alignment with the cords;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 88 of Fig. 7 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 9-9 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows and showing therelative position of the forming dies of the punch press; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse vertical view taken substantiallyalong the line lillB of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows showingsome details of the means for guiding the binding elements to positionto be attached to the cords.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designatethe same parts throughout the several views, particular reference beingfirst had to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the binding elements,here illustrated as S-hooks and designated generally by the numeral l5,each comprises a main body portion it, which is U-shaped inconfiguration and which has a slight ridge ll formed on it whichterminates in an aperture I 8 adapted to loosely receive a substantiallyS-shaped hook H. A plurality of these s-hooks are formed in aninterconnected strip from a single strip of metal and the body portionsit are partially sheared from the strip, leaving a web 20 of theoriginal strip to serve as a means for interconnecting the partiallyformed S-hooks l5. In the formation of this strip of interconnectedS-hooks, serrations 2! are formed at the free ends of the body portionit, which will intermesh to greater or less extent when the 8-hooks havebeen sheared from the web 20 and attached to a cord designated generallyby the numeral 22. While the cord 22 may be one of a number of differentforms without departing from the scope of the present invention, in thepresent instance it is disclosed as a cord comprising a core of threeconductors 23, which are individually insulated one from another andwhich are enclosed in a. braided or woven covering 24, preferably offabric or a sheath of rubber compound, synthetic, plastic or othermaterial.

In practicing the method of the present invention, the web 23 is fedinto a processing apparatus to carry a partially formed 8-hook |3 toposition to be assembled to a cord 22, the web 23 being fed in a slot 33of a stripper plate assembly designated generally by the numeral 3|,

parts of which have been omitted from the showing of Figs. 1 and 2 tomore clearly illustrate other portions of the apparatus. This stripperplate assembly, as shown in Figs. 3 to 10, inclusive, comprises a guidebar or plate 32, in which the slot 33 may be milled to aiford a guidepassage for the web 23 through the stripper plate assembly. An upperguide member 33 (Fig. suitably attached to the guide bar or plate 32,cooperates with a lower guide member 34 to define a passage throughwhich the interconnected strip of s-hooks may be fed to position over acord 22, the body portions i6 of the s-hooks 5 extending slightly belowthe bottom surfaces of the guide bar or plate 32 and lower guide member33 in the feeding of the strip of interconnected S-hooks to the cord 22.The guide passage, designated by the numeral 35 and formed by the guidemembers 33 and 34, terminates as shown in Figs. 3 to 8, just beyond theposition where the 8-hooks are attached to the cord 22, and the surfaceof the upper guide member 33, which engages the guide bar or plate 32,cooperates with the guide bar or plate 32 to guide the web 23, fromwhich the s-hooks l5 have been sheared, out of the apparatus. At theplace where the S-hooks 3 are sheared from the web 23, the lower guidemember 34 is cut away to permit the passage therethrough of the S-shapedhook l9 and a pair of bent leaf springs 43 and 4| are mounted on theplate 34 in position to retard the passage of the S-shaped hookdownwardly so that the hook will not swing under the body portion l3 ofthe S-hook l5, but will be held by the springs in the position shown inFigs. 8 and 9 until the S-hook I5 is forced downwardly by a combinedshearing and forming tool 42.

The shearing and forming tool 42 has a shearing edge 43, whichcooperates with the abutting flat vertically disposed surface of theguide bar or plate 32 to shear an S-hook |5 from the web 23 when the web23 is held against downward movement by the bar or plate 32 and the tool42 is moved downwardly. In addition to the shearing edge 43, the tool 42is provided with a rounded formin surface 44 and a hook-receiving notch45. The tool 42 cooperates with a forming tool 43 having a formedsurface 41 and tapered guiding surfaces 48 and 49 which will serve toguide the downwardly extending legs of the body portion l3 intoengagement with the forming surface 41 when the S-hook is pusheddownwardly after being positioned on the cord 22. The tool 42 is fixedin a press head 5|, which may be actuated by the ram of a punch press orany other suitable actuating means (not shown). The press head 5| hasthe stripper plate assembly 3| suspended from it by retainer bolts 5232,which are threaded into the guide bar or plate 32 and are slidablymounted in the press head 5|, a compression spring 53 surrounding eachof the bolts 32-32 being interposed between a lower surface of the presshead 3| and the upper surface of the bar or plate 32. The springs 53-33are of relatively light construction so that they will carry thestripper plate assembly 3| downwardly with them until a predeterminedamount of resistance to the downward movement of the assembly 3| isencountered, whereupon the springs 33-33 will be compressed until thelower surface of the press head 3| engages the upper surface of thestripper plate assembly guide bar 32.

The cord 22 may be positioned to receive an 8-hook |3 by positioning itbetween guide memhere 34 and 33, mounted upon a guide plate 33, which iscut out, as shown at 31, to receive the tool 43 and has a slot 33 formedin its upper surface to receive the downwardly extending ends of thebody portion l3 of the S-hooks attached to the web 20. The guide plate33 is supported upon the heads 5333 of spring pressed plungers 33-33,which have relatively heavy springs 3|3| surrounding their shanks andinterposed between the bottom surface of nests 32-32 in a base member 33and the heads 59--53 of the plungers 33-33. The springs 3|3| arerelatively stronger than the springs 53-33 and will serve to hold theguide plate 53 in its upper position, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, whenthe springs 33-33 are compressed and when an 8- hook I5 is sheared fromthe S-hcok 23. However, continued downward movement of the press headwill cause the springs 3|3| to be compressed and will move the cord 22with the 8- hook body portion l3, partially encircling it downwardly toengage the downwardly extending ends of the body portion l3 with theforming tool 43.

The guide bar or plate 32 and the lower guide member 34 are cut as shownat 12 and 13. re-

spectively, to receive the cord 22 when the stripper plate assemblymoves into engagement with the guide plate 32.

The method comprising the present invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following brief description of the mode of operationof the structure described hereinbefore. In the practice of theinvention, a cord 22, which has had its sheath or covering of textilesevered to expose the insulated conductors 23, may be placed in positionto receive an S-hook for assembly by placing it on the guide plate 33,as shown in Fig, 3, and an interconnected strip of S-hooks 5,interconnected by the web 23, may be positioned in the stripper plateassembly with the body portions l3 of the S-hooks |5 extendingdownwardly between the guide member 34 and uide bar or plate 32, asshown most clearly in Fig. 10, with the web 23 positioned in the slot33. The interconnected strip of S-hooks |5 maybeadvanced to the positionshown in Fig. 3, where the end S-hook I5 is in alignment with the cord22. After the cord has thus been positioned to receive an S-hook and theinterconnected strip of s-hooks I3 is positioned as shown in Fig. 3, thepress head 5| may be moved downwardly in one continuous stroke to travelthrough the positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 to the positionillustrated in Fig. 6. In moving downwardly, the press head 5| willcarry the stripper plate assembly 3| downwardly to engage it with theguide plate 53, as shown in Fig. 4. In moving to the position shown inFig. 4, the stripper assembly will carry an S-hook into position topartially surround the cord 22. Due to the fact that the springs 3| areappreciably stronger than the springs 33, the stripper plate assembly 3|will be momentarly stopped in its downward movement and the spring 53will be compressed,

thus to permit relative movement between the tool 42 and stripper plateassembly 3|. When the tool 42 moves relative to the stripper plateassembly 3|, its shearing edge 43 will shear the S-hook which partiallysurrounds the cord 22 from the web 20 and will transfer the roundedsurface of the body portion l6 into intimate engagement with the uppersurface of the cord 22. As the press head 5| continues its downwardmovement from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig.6, the springs Gl-BI will be compressed and the guide plate 56 will bedepressed to the position shown in Fig. 6 to carry the cord and S-hookin engagement therewith downwardly to a position where the guidingsurfaces 48 and 49 will guide the downwardly extending parts of the bodyportion l6 into engagement with the forming surface 41 of tool 46, whichis rigidly mounted and will extend through the cutout 51 in the guideplate 56 to cooperate with the tool 42 in tightly clamping the bodyportion of the s-hook l5 into gripping engagement with the cord 22.

As the shearing of the S-hook from the web 20 takes place during themovement of the press head from the position shown in Fig. 4 to theposition shown in Fig. 5, that is, during relative movement in the tool42 and stripper plate assembly 3|, the s-shaped hook !9 will be forcedto pass between leaf springs 40 and 4| and will be laid upon the uppersurface of the cord 22, where it will be held by the notch 45 during thesucceeding forming operation of the body portion 16 of the S-hook 15 toattach the s-hook l5 to the cord 22, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

What is claimed is: The method of applying binding elements to cords,which comprises locating a cord in a predetermined position, moving astrip of metallic elements interconnected by a web and having S-hookspivotally attached to each of the elements to a position in which one ofthe elements is in transverse alignment with the cord, holding theS-hook in a position extending from said last-mentioned element, movingthe element to partial engagement with the cord, simultaneouslyreleasing the S-hook and shearing said element from the interconnectingweb, and moving said element and said cord into engagement with aforming die to clamp the element around the cord.

FRANCIS W. HENNESSEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,743,364 Liss Jan. 14, 19301,765,521 Barrans June 24, 1930 1,836,503 Poole Dec. '15, 1931 1,976,929Elliott Oct. 16, 1934 2,024,416 Allison Dec. 17, 1935 2,024,880 RydquistDec. 17, 1935 2,099,624 Robarge Nov. 16, 1937 2,169,802 Keller Aug. 15,1939 2,225,739 Elliott Dec. 24, 1940 2,357,902 Malhiot Sept. 12, 19442,409,147 Neuhaus et al. Oct. 8, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 728,737 France Apr. 18, 1932

